Daily Yellowstone journal., 1887-09-11
REFORMED.

drinking, smoking and talking SHOP"
The conversation had varied somewhat
from its customary vein that morning,
and after drifting about in a desultory
way had finally settled upon the subject
of temperance, with one of our office
companions figuring as the ''horrible ex-
ample" While we were discussing his
infirmities the object Of our by no means
gentle criticisms came in, and a horrible
example he was. Looking neither to the
right nor TO the left he walked with evil
dent signs Of physical weakness to the
bar, drank a tumblerful of liquor, and
Immediately retraced his steps TO the
street.
''Did you notice the size Of the drink"
asked the moderate drinker Of our quar-
tet; she has been on this spree ten days,
and told me yesterday he couldn't get
sober. Small wonder he can't get sober,
firing cartridges Of thai caliber into him.
self. 1 advised him to STOP"
For a man in his condition to get
sober iss't as easy as accomplishment as
you can think. said cid Bill Robertson,
speaking for the first time in almost an
hour. 'I've been there myself and
know what I'm talking about. Advising
q man TO sober up j. about the cheapest
form Of doing good / know of, and in
most cas& the least productive of favor
able results. Our friend will have to re-
sort to pretty harsh treatment to get
Strengthened up. il something doesn't
supervene to frighten him into sobriety,
rs it did in my case"
TEL us the story, Bill, we chorused.
"Well, il isn't much of a story, but it
Is a true one, and though it happened a
good many years ago, I'm not likely to
forget it, so let's have a fresh cigar and
Ill tell you how | became SO effectually
sobered up that ! haven't from that day
10 this felt the slightest inclination to
take a drink"
Lighting a cigar and taking a sip Of
lemonade from a glass at his elbow the
old fellow 1--WE called him old, though he
wasn't above 45) told a story that pointed
q moral such as few temperance orators
or writers have ever arrived at in depict
ing the horrors Of intemperance or the
blessings Of sobriety.
Il had been a pretty hard drinker for
several years before / found myself on a
spree that u couldn't recover from in
twenty-four hours at the furthest, but as
time went on l found that my sprees
were becoming more protracted and re-
covery from them more difficult. That
condition of things / tried to account for
by assuming that the average quality of
the whisky had deteriorated. and proba-
bly, l was right, but nevertheless l kept
going from bad to worse.
I'm the fall of 1863 / left the military
service in Virginia, and. after settling my
accounts at the wal department and re-
ceiving several months back salary,
came to New York. But before leaving
Washington | laid the foundation If the
most persistent. long drawn out, riveted.
and clinched drunk that ever took hold
Of a fellow and wouldn't let go.
ARRIVING in New York, | hunted up
my old friends. / had no difficulty in
finding them in the condition Of my
finances, and before / was in the city a
week / was hopelessly drunk and broke.
] say hopelessly drunk because, though
the fact may not be generally appre-
ciated. il is more difficult for a mar
who has been drunk week or two to get
sober without money than il is for him
20 continue his spree indefinitely on the
same unsound financial basis. The
many little things a man needs as substi-
tutes for rum and TO build him up can
not be obtained without money. while
liquor can be as easily obtained by a man
of large acquaintance as sand on the sea-
shore or poor accommodations at a high
priced summer boarding house.
well, a / have said, i found myself
drunk and broke, and | also found my
self DESTROYS Of getting sober and going
TO work. Most of you, ! presume, would
say that l gratifed my desire within the
pext t~wenty-four hours, but you would
be wrong. / didn't, nor did ! accom-
plish the desired result within the next
two months.
Whats that! Couldn't have tried
very hardp Why, man, ! did nothing
but try. / couldn't sleep, couldn't eat,
couldn't think. Often after lying awake
three or four hours ! would lose myself
in sleep and awake thinking ] had slept
several hours only TO find that / hadn't
been asleep two minutes. At other times
I'D awake with a start, ~fancying / had
heard a noise like q ~thunderbolt or that
somebody was pacing heavily up or down
the room, merely 10 discover that there
hoI,ft la., n no,a. lo.,d.r than tba tread
Of a fly on a pane Of glass and that ! was
stark alone.
Finally ] got 80 that / was afraid Ia
be left alone. and though ! might be ever
% much exhausted physically ] wouldn't
70 10 bed. The only moments OF COM
fort and security ! experienced were
when I was under the influence of liquor.
and the only meals ] swallowed were
taken after ! prepared my stomach for
their retention by filing il about half full
of whisky.
lone afternoon in the middle Of No
vember ] was walking aimlessly down
Broadway when ! CHANGED to meet an
old friend, q milroad man, and 10 him ]
told the story Of my condition, conclud.
ing il with a request for a pass 10 Gin
cinnati. Why / wanted TO go there
can't tell even now. but / wanted to x
somewhere-to run away from myself, Il
poxiblc. The railroads weren't connect
cd through in those dsysas they are now,
and the best my friend could do was 10
dive me n pass to Buffalo, but be also
Rsve ME letters which procured m'
paasss the rest Of the wy. and ! left New
f1Fk that night accompanied by two
botkis Of whisky, . Glenn shirt and thre